Israel and the Philistines (Jeremiah 47)

  Truth and Consequences: 

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 47

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 11 November 2022

 

Lesson Forty-six:   Israel and the Philistines

 

INTRODUCTION

 Once again, Benjamin Netanyahu won a political election as the month of November began in Israel, and the story is once again front and centre in the minds of Jewish people worldwide. I’m in the US just now, in Kansas City, having spent the last week in both Colorado Springs and St Louis. The thinking of these conservatives with whom I was sharing (and continue to do so) is that a right-leaning conservative like Bibi is just the right man for ‘such a time as this.’ Most with whom I spoke are pro-Israel, some even to the point of being anti-Arab, which is never a good philosophy and certainly bad theology as Jeremiah chapter 47 will display today. 

I ate lunch today at the Jerusalem Café and thought about my many times in Jerusalem. 

What Bibi will accomplish—we’ll just have to wait and see.

I want us to read a couple of other passages in the Tenach that may help us. First, Psalm 87. 

 

“A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

 

His foundation is in the holy mountains. The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.                   Selah.

 

I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’” But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;  and the Most High Himself will establish her. The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, “This one was born there.”  Selah. 

 

Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, “All my springs of joy are in you.” (Psa. 87:1-7)

 

Albert Barnes says this of Jerusalem itself, in verse 2

“More than all the dwellings of Jacob Than any of the places where the descendants of Jacob, or where his people dwell. Much as he might be pleased with their quiet abodes, with their peace, prosperity, and order, and with the fact that his worship was daily celebrated in those happy families, yet he had superior pleasure in the multitudes that crowded the ways to the place where they would publicly acknowledge him as their God.”

Do you know the song/ hymn, “Zion” or “City of God?” No… maybe if I tell you the opening line? Glorious things of thee are spoken?” These were the words of John Newton added to the music of Franz Joseph Haydn

What else did Newton write? He wrote another hymn, “Amazing Grace,” after his heart was converted and he left the slave trade in which he not only participated but the slave ship he captained. Newton went on to become a parish priest in the 18^th century in the UK. These words from verse 3 of Psalm 87 were seriously significant to him. Zion. The City of God. Whatever else it might mean to others, it was his centering, God used Zion to Newton to remind him of what really matters. 

And some of you have that same theology and same personalization of the Mountain of Psalm 48 and the city of Salem where Melchizedek worked as a priest. There continues to be a controversy by those of us who love Jerusalem with Labour here in Australia. They rescinded the commitment of the previous Morrison government to stand with Israel in its capital which is Jerusalem. Whether our Prime Minister agrees or not, Jerusalem is still the capital. 

The psalm seems to say that although Philistia, our area of geographical interest today and Tyre (Lebanon) and Cush (Ethiopia) are somehow brought near and in the heart of God, they are not quite as near as the people of Israel and Zion itself. Still, I like the perspective that the Philistine people are included with the Jewish people who were natives, that is, born in Zion. 

John the Revelator said, “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man(kind). He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21.2-4)

When you get a handle on who is included in that New Jerusalem, animosity towards one people or another will have to go. For in the Revelation we see that people are coming from every tribe and people and tongue and nation. (Revelation 13.7) There is an ethnic multitude; not one ethnicity. 

We need to look at one more verse from Tenach, from the same time era, and from the prophet Zechariah chapter 9. This is one of my favourite chapters in the whole Bible. In this section we read of both Gaza and Philistia, but they are the same people, with Gaza as the capital. 

Again this from Barnes, 

“       And I will take away his bloods out of his mouth. The “abominations” being idol-sacrifices, the “bloods” will also be, the blood mingled with the wine of sacrifices, of which David says, “Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer” (Psalm 16:4); and Ezekiel unites the offences, “Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood” (Ezekiel 33:25).

         But he that remaineth. Better, “And he too” shall remain over to our God.” Of the Philistines too, as of Israel, “a remnant shall be saved.” After this visitation their idolatry should cease; God speaks of the Philistine nation as one man; He would wring his idol-sacrifices and idol-enjoyments from him; he should exist as a nation, but as God’s.

         And he shall be as a governor in Judah. Literally, “a captain of a thousand,” merged in Judah as in a larger whole, as each tribe was divided into its “thousands,” yet intimately blended, in no inferior position, with the people of God, as each converted nation became an integral yet unseparated whole in the people of God.

         And Ekron as a Jebusite. Ekron was apparently the least important of the few remaining Philistine cities (see at Joel 1:8, vol. 1); yet he shall he, as those of the Canaanite nations who were not destroyed, nor fled, but in the very capital and center of Israel’s worship, “dwelt with the children of Benjamin and Judah” (Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21), and were, as a type of the future conversion and absorption of the pagan, incorporated into Judah.”

In other words, the Philistines will be considered as on par with the people of Israel. Of course, as always it’s not everyone of this people group, but as Chris Wright labels them, “the remnant of the Philistines being cleansed and incorporated into Israel as one of the clans of Judah.” (page 422)

Let us return to our chapter today, Psalm 47.

Verse one. An unusual, although not a single use of the opening words. Asher haya davar Adonai. That which came or that which was the word of God. It’s the same opening as the drought in chapter 14, and the overarching word to all the nations in chapter 46, and will be used again in chapter 49. Still, it’s unusual phrasing. Rather than “the word of the Lord came to (prophet) saying, …” It’s almost the way many of us hear from God. Not a direct word, but “a word of God which came or which was.” I like the ‘sense’ of it. The meaning is that we say when we use the phrase, “I sensed the Lord wanted to say” or “I’ve learned this from God and maybe it applies to you.” It’s a softer and gentler expression.

When did the word come? Before Pharaoh Necho conquered Gaza. By the way, Gaza, like Gomorrah, as words, do not begin with a ‘gimel.’ They both start with an ‘ayin’ which is a guttural, swallowed sound, that eventually sounds like a ‘gimel.’ That’s a bonus. 

Verse one tells us that the collapse of Gaza is a done deal, even if this were predictive, and the conqueror is Egypt, which is south of Gaza. Now here’s the problem. Verse 2 says “Behold, waters are going to rise from the north.” 

That means that the Assyrians or more likely in context, the Babylonians are going to come against Gaza as well. Listen, throughout middle east history, the land we today label Israel was a punching bag, or at least the site of the boxing match between Egypt and other conquerors, whether Assyria or Persia or in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians. That was the storyline in the Hanukkah story. 

So here in our text we read that Egypt is going to smash the city and yet there is another who will also dominate the turf and that’s consistent with the story of Jeremiah these 47 chapters so far. 

Verse 2 continues with two general terms. Eretz and Adam.  Overflowing waters over the Eretz, over the land. That often sounds military and is consistent with Jeremiah and other prophets. Use of Adam also in verse 2 shows that enough people are crying out to say “mankind” is crying out. This is no little conquest. This is massive. 

The word “Ha’aretz” is the modern term for the Land of Israel. (Like “The City” is New York City or “The Shire” is not Hornsby or Pennant Hills, but rather Sutherland Shire)   

Remember back in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 says “Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz” (In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth). Or is it “The land?” Could God’s particular concern for his land of Israel be present even from the beginning? That is, if later (Genesis 12.1-3) we see God speaking about a particular in the midst of his universal concern for all of humanity, then why not have a zoom lens on Israel at Genesis 1.1?  Imagine a movie which starts in zoom-in, then after a quick opening scene, it withdraws and takes the fuller scene as its backdrop.

This makes sense in light of Revelation 21 which we earlier read. It’s not “New Stockholm” or “New Rome”, but rather the particular is in Jerusalem. Don’t miss it; the particular is a symbol of the universal. 

Verse 3, “the noise of the galloping hooves” People are disoriented, dismayed and destroyed, not only by Pharaoh Necho, but also God and his angels are involved. The Babylonians are coming like waters. There is a great picture of ruin here. 

Verse 4: destroy all the Philistines. (but a remnant remains!). God himself is getting involved in the destruction. Both by inspiring the conquerors and by sending his own angels. Remember, God has already said that the judgment on Judah by the Babylonians is his doing, so it shouldn’t surprise us that he is also involved in Gaza’s ruin. That is, God will bring judgment on all the nations (here listed one by one) that oppose God and his plans and his people. 

Verse 5: baldness (the historic curse) on Gaza. No hair, no produce from the land, no milk and no honey from your flocks, your herds, your agriculture is gone… this is void and devastation. “Gash yourself” is a sign of idolatry and doing this self-harm “for the gods.” It’s possibly also a sign of despair and sadness. 

Verse 6: “sword of the Lord” is a picture of God’s personal involvement in judgment. Could be angelic hosts. Also could be that he is the inspiration of the Babylonians in conquest. 

Yes, this sounds like there is no hope for Gaza and the Philistines, but as we read in Psalms and Zechariah, there is to come a remnant. We are not those who disparage an entire people. God has people from every tribe and kindred and tongue. We should look for those people as well, amen?

 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 48. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

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ACTUAL TEXT

Prophecy against Philistia

 

Jer. 47:1   That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza.

²        Thus says the LORD: 

         “Behold, waters are going to rise from the north 

         And become an overflowing torrent, 

         And overflow the land and all its fullness, 

         The city and those who live in it; 

         And the men will cry out, 

         And every inhabitant of the land will wail.

³        “Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions, 

         The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, 

         The fathers have not turned back for their children, 

         Because of the limpness of their hands,

⁴        On account of the day that is coming 

         To destroy all the Philistines, 

         To cut off from Tyre and Sidon 

         Every ally that is left; 

         For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines, 

         The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

⁵        “Baldness has come upon Gaza; 

         Ashkelon has been ruined. 

         O remnant of their valley, 

         How long will you gash yourself?

⁶        “Ah, sword of the LORD, 

         How long will you not be quiet? 

         Withdraw into your sheath; 

         Be at rest and stay still.

⁷        “How can it be quiet, 

         When the LORD has given it an order? 

         Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast 

         There He has assigned it.”